Not having to worry about the arrangements took a little of the pressure off of me. But naturally I was very nervous. I guess it was more excitement t...an anything.Thursday finally arrived and I left work and drove to the meeting place. I knocked on the door and Helen answered almost immediately. She had on heavy makeup and her hair had been fixed. But she had on a long bathrobe. "Am I early?", I asked. "No, I've just got something planned for you," she replied. Just stand right here in this. We’re really looking forward to helping y’all make this finally happen. We love you so much!”“Thanks so much, Mom,” I said, choking back tears, “And sorry for not talking with you about it directly. We just wanted to be as discreet as possible, that’s all.”“I understand, baby. I completely understand.” Then there came an unexpected chuckle from her end. “But you know ... I have to say I was getting more than a little suspicious of your father’s behavior these past couple of weeks. I mean, you. That was the last time I or anyone else ever saw him. The Mad Cracker was never caught. I couldn’t wonder too much about him, as I had a host of other things on my mind that night. As we rode the elevator up to the Observation Deck I thanked God that Mindy’s father hadn’t called yet. I had my cell phone in my pocket, hoping he’d call me there and not reach my machine at home, which Julie might have heard. We got out of the elevator, stepped onto the deck, felt a stiff breeze, and took a look at. "Rico looked a little startled. We finally managed to say something he hadn't anticipated. He hadn't expected to be surprised by anything, but Spencer's statement obviously piqued his interest. "Really? They keep statistics like that?" Sure," said Spencer, pleased to be able to shake the kid. "You know who it was this year?"Rico looked at me. "Let me guess," he said.I didn't say anything. Spencer chuckled. "It's his system. Who better to use it to advantage?"Everybody else faded from existence,.